The Corruption Begins
by rmlohner
Summary: How Magica De Spell first made contact with Lena and sent her on her mission.


There was no way of knowing how long this had been her existence. This bodiless, drifting nothingness only allowing her the briefest glimpses of what was happening in the world around her. Time and place had no meaning. And for that matter, neither did she. Magica De Spell, the greatest sorceress the world had ever known, unable to see or hear or smell or touch for what all evidence suggested would be an eternity.

At first she had wondered if Scrooge had been aware of what the result of causing that particular spell to rebound on her would be. As far as she knew, he simply believed she was after his Number One Dime, with no idea that it was the final ingredient that would allow her to remake all of existence as she saw fit. Surely, he couldn't believe that consigning her to this hellish non-existence forever could be a fitting punishment for so small a crime?

She didn't think that way anymore. However long she had spent in this state, it was long enough to strip any feelings toward Scrooge and his allies but sheer, burning hatred. More than anything, this was what allowed her to hold on to as much of her sanity as she had. The desire to somehow get revenge on them all occupied her every thought, a touchstone for whenever she felt like giving up and letting the nothingness swallow her mind.

And suddenly, what was once nothing contained a…presence. She couldn't sense at all what it was, but it called to her, a sensation she almost didn't recognize. And whatever it was, it had to be an improvement on her current circumstances. And so, with no idea how she was doing it, Magica willed herself toward the thing. It seemed another eternity before she reached it, but just as suddenly as the force had appeared, she found herself looking at the crystal clear image of someone's face, such a contrast from her usual view that it would have hurt her eyes if she still had them.

The face was a female duck, apparently an adolescent, with a pink streak through her hair feathers. And after the instant in which Magica took that in, the duck screamed and her view was suddenly plummeting until it stopped on a wooden floor. This was so far from her expectations that she gave a frustrated shout. "What is happening?"

The duck timidly came into view again, at an awkward angle that showed she was kneeling on the floor. "Um, hello?"

At least it was an opening for a dialogue, even if Magica questioned how useful the girl could be. "Where is this, and who are you?"

Her companion seemed a bit taken aback by the imperiousness of the questions, but she would have to get used to that. "I'm Lena, and this is my house. The attic, actually. My father told me never to come in here, but I just couldn't help it. Please don't tell on me!"

Magica scoffed at the childish concern. "What do your petty concerns mean to me? I am Magica De Spell, rightful ruler of all existence!"

Lena now looked confused. "Really? Because I've never heard of you."

With a great effort, Magica swallowed the angry rant that would normally have set off. It seemed she still couldn't move, or use her magic, and that meant that as much as it galled her, she needed this girl's help. So instead she said, "Never mind that, now. Just tell me, I'm clearly not in my own body, so what do you see when you look at me?"

Lena shrugged. "It's this old amulet I found. As soon as I touched it, your face appeared. Here, look." Magica's view changed again as Lena picked her up and pointed her toward a dusty mirror. And much to her shock, she recognized her current residence.

"You say you found it where your father told you not to look? I wonder, what is his name?"

"Bertrand, why?"

Magica hissed at the name. This would make getting Lena's help trickier. "Listen to me carefully. I said I was the rightful ruler of all existence, and that's because after years of learning the ancient magical arts, I discovered a spell that would let me rewrite reality itself. Imagine, if you could end all suffering in the world with a snap of your fingers, wouldn't you do it?"

Lena thought for a few seconds, then said, "I guess so."

"Exactly! But, don't ask me to explain why, there were people who opposed my using it. One of them, I'm sorry to say, was my own brother. Your father."

"Wait, you mean you're my aunt?"

"It would seem so. And as painful as his betrayal was, that he never told you about me stings so much worse. It's like he was trying to erase all memory of me."

Lena frowned. "That just doesn't sound like him. He's so nice!"

Magica scoffed. "That's what he shows you, I'm sure. But you're not with him every hour of the day, are you? Can you say for sure what he does when you're not around?"

Lena started to say something, but suddenly stopped herself. "I guess not."

Magica forced the smile off her face, not wanting to give the game away too soon. "In the end, they sentenced me to exist as nothing but a spirit forever, doomed to wander the world forever never getting to touch any of it again. But now that's all changed. Our family connection makes perfect sense to me now; blood magic is the most powerful of all. But then…perhaps I shouldn't put the burden on you."

By now Lena looked fully invested. "No, please. What is it?"

Magica sighed, perhaps a bit theatrically. "It appears I still haven't quite made my way back to the living world. I'm trapped in this amulet, still unable to do anything myself. Which means that if I'm ever going to truly return and fulfill my destiny, it's going to be up to you." It was a shame Lena wasn't younger, as pushing a child to the level of moral corruption she needed would have been much easier. Still, she seemed to be making progress judging by the look on Lena's face.

After a brief war of emotions played across her face, Lena finally settled on a look of determination. "All right, I'll do it. Uh, you do know what it is I have to do, right?"

"Absolutely. Another of the ones who fought me was named Scrooge McDuck, and he's the most dangerous of them all. Which means he's the one we'll need to be closest to…"


End file.
